1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a window regulator for automatically opening and closing a window of an awning equipped in an open cabin of a cruiser.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are conventionally known, as a cabin of a cruiser, cabins whose overhead areas are in an open state (hereinafter, cabins of this type will be generically referred to as “open cabins”) such as a main cabin equipped with a helm and provided in the open air or a main cabin having a flying deck (also called “flying bridge”) mounted on a roof of the main cabin and equipped with a helm.
In an open cabin of this type, a user can do open and exhilarating steering because overhead the cabin is in an open state.
During steering in the open cabin, the user is lashed against by a strong head wind, poured with the sea spray or exposed to the sunlight. This is why an enclosure enclosing a helm position is installed in the open cabin.
While enclosures of various shapes are proposed, most of the enclosures are structured as follows. A clear vinyl sheet is stuck onto a front surface and both side surfaces of a main frame assembled into a box shape on the open cabin using a fastener and a lightproof sheet is stuck onto an upper portion of the main frame. Since the box-type enclosure apparently projects from a streamlined body of the cruiser, the box-type enclosure has problems of being poor looking and unattractive.
Furthermore, the clear vinyl sheet is made open by the fastener so as to ventilate an interior of the enclosure. However, since the cruiser is generally anchored at a marina while being left in the rain, the clear vinyl sheet deforms due to a difference in temperature or other conditions. As a result, the fastener cannot be smoothly opened or closed, thus making the enclosure less user-friendly.
Considering these problems, the applicant of the present invention developed the following awning as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3443397. In the awning having a transparent window panel provided in front of a lightproof roof cover arranged above an open cabin of a cruiser and slidably opening and closing a space between a front end of the roof cover and a front portion of the open cabin in front of the roof cover, the roof cover is inclined down ahead, the window panel is inclined to be continuous to inclination of the roof cover, slide rails are arranged below side frames supporting the roof cover always at constant distance to the side frames, respectively, and left and right sides of the window panel are slidably attached to the slide rails, respectively.
Many features of the awning disclosed in the Japanese Patent No. 3443397 win popularity among consumers. For example, the window panel has good opening and closing operability. The awning has a streamlined external shape that prompts the wind blowing down ahead from the window panel to the roof cover particularly when the window panel is closed.
However, in case of the conventional awning, the user is disadvantageously required to manually operate a grip provided on the window panel so as to open or close a window. The manual operation is quite cumbersome and automatic operation is desired.